Katharina Buczek
And perhaps similarly, journalists are very worried about “like-minded people clustering around the same news outlets.”
This can drastically limit exposure to and consequent understanding of other perspectives– only increasing our country’s divide.
The second Pew Research Center Study, entitled “What do journalists think the news industry does best and worst?” forced nearly twelve thousand reporters to reflect inward on their own work sector.
Unsurprisingly, most journalists believe that the industry is best at “getting the news out” as quickly as possible. This response was followed by the ability to adapt to industry change.
But, perhaps shockingly, journalists believe their industry does the worst job at getting the story right. This was followed by remaining unbiased and issues in the workplace.
Interestingly, the study also included anonymous quotes shared by everyone from rookies to veteran journalists in the industry.
A woman journalist, who has been working in the news industry for over twenty years, believes there is “too much editorializing and not enough straight reporting.”
Two other journalists, one man and one woman, also similarly believe that remaining “completely unbiased” is not always correct.
“I wish it [the news industry] would stop giving equal time and space to points of view that are clearly inaccurate in an attempt to be ‘fair,'” the woman said.
“Providing comprehensive, unbiased coverage of sensitive…issues,” the man said in response to what the industry does worst.
Still, many journalists believe that the news industry has made significant gains– including the diversification of newsrooms, the publication of various perspectives, and generally making do with the sometimes limited resources journalists are given.
